Loading ...From Hal McCoy:
Pinch-hitter Freddie Lewis hit a ball to dead center. As he has done so often this year, center fielder Willy Taveras broke poorly on the ball, running laterally to his left before realizing the ball was over his head. It fell for a double.
He doesn’t get on base. When he does he doesn’t steal when it is needed. He was brought in to be a leadoff hitter and couldn’t do it and is now batting second. And he is below average in the field. What can Taveras do? He has a nice stereo set in the clubhouse that plays loud, headache-inducing salsa music.
And holy cahooties. Taveras just hit a ground ball to the mound and trotted toward first base. Didn’t run. Jogged. Stopped before he got to the bag. Manager Dusty Baker immediately yanked him from the lineup, replacing him with Laynce Nix.
The Reds later announced that Taveras has a strained right quadriceps muscle. I don’t question the injury, but it was awfully convenient
As far as I’m concerned, and many other fans are concerned, Taveras can rot on the bench the rest of the season. I’ve seen nothing to merit the millions the Reds have flushed down the toilet when they brought this guy in.
Baker said Taveras hurt himself early in the game when he bunted and dove head first into the first-base bag as the ball rolled foul. He stayed in and couldn’t run the next at-bat.
“I knew something was wrong when I saw him not run, because that’s not Willy,” said Baker.
As others have said, when the beat writers in Cincinnati turn against the franchise, it’s news.
Dusty:
“That’s not Willy.” Since when? Has he been watching the same games we’ve seen all year?
“I ain’t no frontrunner.” May be bench the veterans who can’t play anymore?
“I can’t play everybody.” Well, don’t play the ones who can’t play.
“It’s part of the learning process.” Is morale not part of the learning process?
“He needs to chill and marinate.” By rotting in the minors or on the bench?
“I didn’t want to put the kid up there in that situation.” What happened to learning? And, anyway, 26 is not a kid in baseball years.
“There’s lots of guys calling me who want to play.” I know why…you’ll play them instead of those who are better.
Welsh and Kelch (!) hammered Willy T. when he grounded out during his second-inning at-bat, when he swung at the first pitch he saw despite Lincecum throwing something like nine straight balls prior.
I’ve been preaching patience with Stubbs and (especially) Heisey, but it’s time to cut bait with Taveras and see what we’ve got in Stubbs for the next six weeks. Like McCoy, “I’ve seen nothing to merit the millions the Reds have flushed down the toilet when they brought this guy in.”
I was in the car that inning, and Marty was on Taveras, too.
I will note one difference between this incident and others I’ve heard Marty (or Thom) with players they seem to not like. Marty made his point with Taveras, said what he had to say, and that was it.
With other players, I’ve heard Marty (or Thom) dwell on it for the rest of the inning, and sometimes into the subsequent innings.
I noticed something last night…all 9 starters in the Angels lineup are batting over .300 and the LOWEST obp in the lineup is .347. They clog the bases like crazy. How are they winning with all those base runners clogging the bases?
To be fair to Willy T (not an easy thing to do, of course), I don’t recall seeing him dog it to first like that before, which is why I assumed he was hurt last night. And I’m pretty sure all those times he appeared to be loafing a bit on balls hit to CF, he was running slowly because he had no freakin’ idea where the ball was or where it was going to be.
There, I think that was fair.
I do believe that at least he thought he was hurt. But, c’mon, he rarely gives you a good AB and plays substandard defense. I honestly believe Dusty defends him and continues to play him so much is b/c he feels sorry for him and doesn’t like the way he is criticized by the fans. Unfortunately, it has blinded him to how bad it has affected the team.
Kurt, I watched the Indians/Angels game last night. The Angels run a lot of first to third, slap balls through the infield, and play good defense in addition to the OBP. They are an exciting team to watch. They take what the defense gives them and, wait for it, don’t do stupid things on the base paths. But they are full of base cloggers and front runners.
I said before Willie started playing that he is not a good defender and he takes strange routes to the ball. If I could tell that from a couple of seasons on the sofa, how obvious should it be to the professionals?